Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Profiles Of Asian American Subgroups In Massachusetts: Vietnamese Americans In Massachusetts, Shauna Lo, Thao Tran

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Vietnamese Americans are the third largest Asian American subgroup in Massachusetts. In the 2010 decennial census, the Vietnamese American population in the state numbered 47,636, an increase of nearly 30% since 2000.

The largest concentration of Vietnamese Americans is in the city of Boston, while Worcester also has a significant population. There are also sizable communities of Vietnamese Americans just to the north and south of Boston—to the north in Malden, Everett, Medford, Revere, Chelsea, and Lynn, and to the south in Quincy, Randolph, and Braintree.

The greatest area of growth of Vietnamese Americans in the state is to the …

The Effects Of Reinforcer-Paired Stimuli On Operant Behavior: Review, Demonstration, And Conceptual Analysis, Timothy Lowell Edwards

Masters Theses

The presentation of stimuli that have been paired with reinforcers may function as a motivating operation in that the efficacy of the reinforcers appears to increase and the class of responses that have been historically followed by those reinforcers increases in strength. This phenomenon has important implications for a number of behavioral concerns including drug addiction and eating disorders. A review of the existing literature examining this phenomenon presented herein suggests that the phenomenon is reliable and robust but that it is reinforcer-specific. In the animal study that is subsequently described, rats show a higher proportion of responding on average …

Rrh Library Newsletter, August 2012, Libraries At Rochester Regional Health

Rochester Regional Health authored publications and proceedings

Newsletter sections include: Hospital Noise; Library News

Efficiency Estimates And Rankings Employing Data Envelopment And Stochastic Frontier Analyses: Evaluating The Management Of U.S. Public Colleges, G. Thomas Sav

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper estimates and compares operating efficiencies of publicly owned associate degree granting colleges in the United States using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Comparisons are based on panel data for 698 colleges over four academic years, 2005-09. Included are both constant and variable returns to scale DEA estimates along with half and truncated normal inefficiency SFA estimates. The values 0.56 vs. 0.45 represent the largest mean DEA-SFA efficiency differential. DEA results indicate that 13% of colleges are fully (100%) efficient while SFA puts that percentage at only 1.7%. Comparisons of rankings based on efficiency performance …

Principles And Best Practices, Timothy L. Sellnow

Communication Presentations

No abstract provided.

Design From Within: A Resident-Based Approach To Nursing Home Design, Maureen D. Carland Ma

All Student Scholarship

This paper examined the value and impact of obtaining stakeholder input in the design of long-term care facilities. Most previous literature focused on obtaining input from an architect’s or nurse’s perspective, and very few studies have analyzed input from the residents—the primary stakeholder (Woo, Mak, Cheng & Choy, 2011). Specifically, this paper identifies and examines stakeholder input at The Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough, Maine.

Weaponizing Tear Gas: Bahrain’S Unprecedented Use Of Toxic Chemical Agents Against Civilians., Richard Sollom, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

The Bahraini government’s response to the early 2011 pro-democracy protests was brutal, systematic, and violent. In addition to birdshot and rubber bullets, government law enforcement attacked unarmed protestors with toxic chemical agents including tear gas. The government’s crackdown on the medical profession was especially harmful, as security forces arrested and detained doctors, raided health facilities, and obstructed patients from receiving necessary care. This report’s findings are based on field research that the authors conducted in Bahrain (April 2012) to investigate excessive use of force by law enforcement officials since June 2011—the end of Bahrain’s state of emergency. The medico-legal team …

Alternative Annual Forage Crop Options For Northern Great Plains Cattle Producers: A South Dakota Case Study, Md Parvez, Scott Fausti, Thandiwe Nleya, Patricia Johnson, Kenneth Olsen, John Rickertsen

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

In the Northern Great Plains region, crop and livestock producers view forage crop production as an important component of their farm management system. During periods of increased environmental risk, alternative annual forage crops may provide producers with a risk reducing alternative to traditional forage crops. An alternative forage crop production study (20 varieties) was conducted by South Dakota State University. Production yield data was analyzed using alternative decision making criteria when outcomes are uncertain. Empirical results provide insight on forage crop planting decisions with respect to the importance of optimal harvest timing, and the ranking of alternative forage crops as …

Investing In An Agricultural Legacy, Leo Paul Goeringer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

America's agricultural producers continue to age. According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators increased from 55.3 in 2002 to 57.1 in 2007. During the same period, the Census shows a thirty percent decrease in the number of farmers under age 25. Young and beginning producers (YBPs) entering agriculture face high startup costs and a shortage of land to own or rent.

With these concerns in mind, this manuscript details the impact of an innovative proposed loan program for YBPs in Arkansas, which would offer concessionary interest rates and loan fees by participating banks for …

Using Children’S Maps To Locate Areas Of Perceived Danger On Children’S Routes To School, Frank Bondzio, Ken Boyle

Conference Papers

Municipals and local authorities all over the world are attempting to boost the number of children walking or cycling to school as the benefits for children and society as a whole deriving from an active travel to and from school are widely acknowledged. For this reason programs that encourage active travel to school are often implemented by local authorities or schools. Many of these programs focus on the child. Cycle training or motivation programs aimed at a mode shift towards active travel are relatively easy to set up and can lead to quick results. Yet, a child centred review of …

Rhyme Or Reason:That Is The Question?, Jim Roche

Articles

Noting that “the aesthetic should not be limited merely to the way things look” the organisers of this conference sought “in part to address the discursive limitation in architecture and related subjects by broadening the aesthetic discourse beyond questions relating to purely visual phenomena in order to include those derived from all facets of human experience”.

So where does etchics come in? Well, the introductory brochure noted that most philosophical trained aestheticians will say that “the aesthetic is everything” hinting perhaps of the necessity for a more haptic experience of architecture. It also drew on Wittgenstein’s quote that “ethics and …

Gender Inequality In Deliberative Participation, Christopher F. Karpowitz, Tali Mendelberg, Lee Shaker

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Can men and women have equal levels of voice and authority in deliberation or does deliberation exacerbate gender inequality? Does increasing women's descriptive representation in deliberation increase their voice and authority? We answer these questions and move beyond the debate by hypothesizing that the group's gender composition interacts with its decision rule to exacerbate or erase the inequalities. We test this hypothesis and various alternatives, using experimental data with many groups and links between individuals' attitudes and speech. We find a substantial gender gap in voice and authority, but as hypothesized, it disappears under unanimous rule and few women, or …

Promoting Students' Social And Academic Success Through Teacher Praise, Rebekah S. Bickford Psyd

All Student Scholarship

Teachers’ ratios of positive-to-negative interactions (praise ratios) have been shown to be responsive to instruction and feedback. Likewise, students have demonstrated improvements on multiple dimensions of academic and behavioral outcome measures as a result of increases in teachers’ use of praise. The present study investigates the impact of motivational consultation combined with performance feedback and instruction on the praise ratios of teachers in a general education setting. This research examines the impact of increased praise ratios on the silent reading comprehension of students as measured by curriculum-based measures. The impact of increased praise ratios on students’ subjective well-being at school …

Disability And Rehabilitation In Rural America: A Synopsis Of The State Of The Science 2012, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities at the University of Montana conducted a state-of-the-science conference on the status of rural disability and rehabilitation from April 17- 20, 2012. The conference was conducted over the Internet, making it accessible for many who might not otherwise have been able to participate. A total of 179 participants in 45 states participated over the four days. Four nationally-acclaimed leaders in rural policy and practice addressed the question, “How do rural community; rural economic development and employment; and rural health overlap with disability and rehabilitation?” Each keynote speaker described his or …

Adhd Medication: Wide Variation Across Kentucky Raises Questions, Michael T. Childress

Issue Brief on Topics Affecting Kentucky’s Economy

No abstract provided.

Case Study: Working With A Patron To Process A Collection, Ruth Bryan

Library Presentations

No abstract provided.

Extending Story Listening As A Practice Of Communal Formation At The Lake Orion Church Of Christ, Eric R. Magnusson

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project that explores the potential for extending a practice of story listening as a way of forming community across social circles at the Lake Orion Church of Christ in Lake Orion, Michigan. The intervention involved guiding a group of six participant-researchers, each of whom had previous experience in story listening, through six sessions in the fall of 2011. Each phase of the project was informed by a participatory social Trinitarian theology. The first three sessions were designed to empower participant-researcher pairs to facilitate story listening groups of four to five …

2012 Tsu Undergraduate Research Program, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Social Bioarchaeology Of Childhood As Applied To The Analysis Of An Excavated Mid- To Late-Nineteenth-Century Mennonite Cemetery, Berne, Indiana, Jennifer L. Hildebrand

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This thesis provides a social-bioarchaeological analysis of the Old Mennonite Cemetery (1852-1896) in Berne, Indiana, with emphasis on treatment of child burials as a reflection of Mennonite identity and beliefs. Social bioarchaeology combines the methods of both social archaeology and bioarchaeology. When applied to the study of children in a mortuary context, social bioarchaeology allows determination of cultural age categories and a fuller understanding of childhood. In this study, various forms of historical documentation were utilized to provide a social context for analysis of the cemetery. These materials revealed a collective religious identity based on practices pertaining to children, most …

Status And Prosociality In Egalitarian Societies, Zachary Garfield

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Egalitarian societies have been the subject of significant academic attention for their unique cultural qualities, both as a representation of a distinct political category, and as a base line in the context of biological and cultural evolution. Although the domains and degrees of egalitarianism vary cross-culturally, certain characteristics seem universal. Egalitarian societies are nonstratified social systems that lack hereditary statuses with ascribed coercive power. In egalitarian societies leadership is achieved and dependent upon personal qualities and individual behavior. Leaders are granted authority but lack coercive power and rely on techniques such as persuasion to exert influence over others. Multiple theories …

Office Of Scholarly Communications Annual Report, Fy 2012, Paul Royster, Sue Ann Gardner

Institutional Repository Information

The UNL Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Communications continues to be among the most active and innovative in the USA. Its DigitalCommons repository is the nation’s second-largest, but perhaps its most impressive feature is the degree of faculty acceptance and participation. Other libraries are challenged to get faculty to contribute to their repositories; we are challenged to keep up with the incoming volume and ongoing demand for services. Our library publishing efforts are also a model for others, and we are a leader in the development of electronic publishing of open-access academic materials.

Report includes list of accomplishments, analysis of trends, …

Natural Resources In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Use And Priorities: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Natural resources are vital to Nebraska’s economy and quality of life. Policies to protect these valuable natural resources – such as soil and water – ensure that they will be available for future generations. However, development of natural resources for economic gain must often be balanced with these policies. Developing such a compromise is often difficult. What barriers are preventing rural Nebraskans from recycling more? What collection methods are they using to recycle? How do they feel about some of the issues surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline? What priorities do rural Nebraskans give for various uses of land and natural …

Developing The Creative Groundwork For Building Insight-Provoking Tools, Janese Evans

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Developing the Creative Groundwork for Building Insight-Provoking Tools

The field of Marketing Research strives to reach its potential as a provider of insights related to consumer attitudes and behaviors. Departments have been renamed and hopes have been raised, but little change in process or deliverables is apparent. As a Marketing Research professional, I see that, generally, members of my profession demonstrate a keen lack of skill definition and training around practices that lead to insight. My Master’s Project lays the groundwork for me to become a change leader as a catalyst for insight skill-building in my field. The project includes …

Evaluation Of A Group Cognitive-Behavioral Depression Prevention Program For Young Adolescents: A Randomized Effectiveness Trial, Jane Gillham, K. Reivich, S. M. Brunwasser, D. R. Freres, N. D. Chajon, V. M. Kash-Macdonald, T. M. Chaplin, R. Abenavoli, S. L. Matlin, R. Gallop, M. E.P. Seligman

Psychology Faculty Works

Depression is a common psychological problem in adolescence. Recent research suggests that group cognitive-behavioral interventions can reduce and prevent symptoms of depression in youth. Few studies have tested the effectiveness of such interventions when delivered by school teachers and counselors (as opposed to research team staff). We evaluated the effectiveness of the Penn Resiliency Program for adolescents (PRP-A), a school-based group intervention that targets cognitive behavioral risk factors for depression. We randomly assigned 408 middle school students (ages 10–15) to one of three conditions: PRP-A, PRP-AP (in which adolescents participated in PRP-A and parents were invited to attend a parent …

Sexual Trauma History Does Not Moderate Treatment Outcome In Attachment-Based Family Therapy (Abft) For Adolescents With Suicide Ideation, G. Diamond, T. Creed, Jane Gillham, R. Gallop, J. L. Hamilton

Psychology Faculty Works

Despite the well-documented association between history of sexual trauma (HSA) and suicide ideation, HSA is largely overlooked in suicide treatment studies. Existing studies showed that patients with a HSA have a weaker treatment response. In this randomized clinical trial for suicide ideation, HSA did not moderate treatment outcome for Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT). Adolescents responded better to ABFT than a control condition, regardless of HSA status. At baseline, adolescents with HSA were also more likely to report past suicide attempts than those without HSA, indicating that they are a particularly important subgroup to consider when developing and evaluating interventions that …

Analgesic Narcotics: Effects Beyond Pain Relief, Michael T. Childress

Issue Brief on Topics Affecting Kentucky’s Economy

No abstract provided.

Antipsychotics: Broadened Use Brings Concerns, Michael T. Childress

Issue Brief on Topics Affecting Kentucky’s Economy

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Medicaid Pharmaceutical Utilization Guide, 2000‐2010, Michael T. Childress

CBER Research Report

From the preface:

Understanding Medicaid pharmaceutical utilization in Kentucky is important: over $6.6 billion was expended in the state from 2000 to 2010 on outpatient medication; it has the potential to fundamentally transform the health and well‐being individuals, and by extension wider communities; and there is a continuing trend in the nonmedical use (and abuse) of prescription drugs, exacting a heavy toll on individuals, their families, and the wider community. The Kentucky Medicaid Pharmaceutical Utilization Guide, 2000‐2010 provides information on the 50 most utilized pharmaceuticals in Kentucky with respect to prescriptions, costs, and total grams—and presents this information for children …

Using Attribute Behavior Diversity To Build Accurate Decision Tree Committees For Microarray Data, Qian Han, Guozhu Dong

Kno.e.sis Publications

DNA microarrays (gene chips), frequently used in biological and medical studies, measure the expressions of thousands of genes per sample. Using microarray data to build accurate classifiers for diseases is an important task. This paper introduces an algorithm, called Committee of Decision Trees by Attribute Behavior Diversity (CABD), to build highly accurate ensembles of decision trees for such data. Since a committee's accuracy is greatly influenced by the diversity among its member classifiers, CABD uses two new ideas to "optimize" that diversity, namely (1) the concept of attribute behavior–based similarity between attributes, and (2) …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 36-S, No. 8, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Still Locked Up For Life

On a More Hopeful Note: Prison Population Decline

Program Saved

Survivors Manual Re-released

VSPW -- Calusura or Conversión?

Voices From Inside